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Oppose École Polytechnique's links with Technion

AURDIP has launched a petition opposing École Polytechnique's links with Technion. École Polytechnique is one of France's leading research universities while Technion, Israel's leading technical research university which is heavily involved in developing drones and other weapons and surveillance systems used in the attack on Gaza and supporting the occupation.
The new double agreement involves the exchange of faculty and students and takes the first steps towards a joint masters level programme.
These agreements involve French academics in strengthening Technion’s weapons programmes and make the benefits of French research available to Technion for their own programmes.

How Israeli universities are supporting
war crimes in Gaza

Israeli universities are proclaiming how they have supported the attack
on Gaza.

Tel Aviv University dean Yoav Ariel told his students “The university
is proud of all its students and thanks those who did reserve service,
I wish us all a swift return to our blessed routine.” The university
had already announced last month that it would be providing one year
of tuition stipends to soldiers.

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem sent out a letter declaring “The
university is joining the war effort to support its warrior students,
in order to minimize the financial burden” on those who were called
up to join the attack on Gaza. The university called on “friends
and alumni” to donate to a special scholarship fund and links
to a donation page that allows gifts to be earmarked for the “Protective
Edge” fund.

On 11 August, Haifa Rector David Faraji wrote to soldiers informing
them that “... blesses your return and expresses great appreciation
for your activity and contribution within the framework of your service
in Operation Protective Edge.” His letter provides “details
of the adjustments and benefits that have been decided upon, jointly
with the student union.”

Account of Ordeal With the Israel Lobby
and University of California

Professor William Robinson of UC Santa Barbara was the target of a
campaign of intimidation, silencing, and political repression that included
techniques described in the "Hasbara
handbook" by the Israel lobby for his support of BDS; in contravention
of academic freedom and university rules.

"I may well have been run from the university if it were not for
graduate and undergraduate students (together with a handful of committed
colleagues), who early on in the persecution set up the Committee to
Defend Academic Freedom that launched a worldwide campaign in my defense.
This in turn sparked a good portion of the faculty into action, several
months into the campaign of persecution against me, to defend my academic
freedom. "

This call further demonstrates the growing anger of academics worldwide
at Israel's criminal activity, inflamed by events in Gaza but flowing
from anger at the long history of occupation and blockade. The global
academic community is stating clearly that it will not stand idly by
but will actively support their Palestinian colleagues.

Imagine you are a Palestinian academic
or a student

One of the reasons for the Academic Boycott is the way in which Israeli
actions make normal university life impossible in Gaza and the West
Bank and East Jerusalem. This account from Nazmi Al-Masri, a Professor
of English at the Islamic University of Gaza, describes in detail how
research and studying (and everyday life) are disrupted.

Philosophers and political theorists call
for academic boycott of Israel

"As academics, we specifically support an academic boycott, by
which we mean a principled refusal to associate with Israeli academic
institutions that have not explicitly condemned the occupation. The
urgency of this measure is underlined by the fact that, so far, not
a single Israeli academic institution has issued such a condemnation,
and many have even made their support for the state’s recent actions
clear – witness the University of Tel Aviv’s recent offer
to waive a year’s fees for students who served in the attack on
Gaza, whilst threatening to discipline students for criticising Israeli
forces on social media."

As members of the [Spanish] university
community, we answer the call of Palestinian society and Palestinian
universities for people and NGOs around the world to join the Boycott,
Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel. This is the
most peaceful and effective way of making Israel comply with international
law. The BDS campaign against Israel started in 2005 in response to
Israel’s constant human rights violations and the lack of determination
of other countries and international organisations to take effective
action. The campaign is inspired by the successful experience of the
international boycott of South Africa, which brought down apartheid.
It has received the support of outstanding activists like the Nobel
Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu, progressive Jewish organisations such
as the Jewish Voice for Peace and a growing number of Israeli academics.
This shows how BDS is an effective way for us to put international pressure,
through non-violent action, on Israel to respect Palestinian Rights.

Over 400 African Scholars call for boycott
(now over 600)

African Scholars have added their voices to the call for Academic Boycott

"We, the undersigned African scholars and scholars of Africa,
hold that silence about the latest humanitarian catastrophe caused by
Israel’s new military assault on the Gaza Strip—the third
and most devastating in six years—constitutes complicity. Member
states of NATO which mounted an air war on Libya ostensibly to
protect civilians in Benghazi have been by and large quiet about the
fate of civilians in Gaza. World governments and mainstream media do
not hold Israel accountable for its violations of international law.
We, however, as a community of scholars have a moral responsibility
to do so. .."

US University withdraws job from Steven
Salaita for Gaza comments

Dr. Steven Salaita, a Palestinian American and world-renowned scholar,
was fired from his new position at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
(UIUC) because of his public criticism of the U.S.-sponsored Israeli
massacres in Gaza. He was also a prominent campaigner for the American
Studies Association’s decision to boycott Israeli academic institutions
last December.

Staff of Hague International Institute
of Social Studies call on Dutch Government to implement BDS

96 professors and staf fof of the IISS in the Hague have endorsed BDS
and stated:

The example of the anti-apartheid struggles in South Africa shows
that offending governments do not easily change their ways unless
put under intense diplomatic pressure. It took decades of struggle
to achieve the abolition of apartheid. What helped in this struggle
was the work of countless numbers of individuals, organizations and
institutions across the world, and in the Netherlands, that acted
in solidarity with the oppressed. Equally important were the actions
of world governments, including the Dutch Government, that took a
stand against the oppressors. We therefore ask the Dutch Government
to officially implement boycott, divestment and sanctions against
the State of Israel.

Over 100 Middle East Studies Scholars and
Librarians Call for the Boycott of Israeli Academic Institutions (now
over 400)

Following in the footsteps of the growing number of U.S. academic associations
that have endorsed boycott resolutions, we call on our colleagues in
Middle East Studies to boycott Israeli academic institutions, and we
pledge not to collaborate on projects and events involving Israeli academic
institutions, not to teach at or to attend conferences and other events
at such institutions, and not to publish in academic journals based
in Israel. We call for doing so until such time as these institutions
end their complicity in violating Palestinian rights as stipulated in
international law, and respect the full rights of Palestinians by calling
on Israel to:

End its siege of Gaza, its occupation and colonization of all Arab
lands occupied in June 1967, and dismantle the settlements and the
walls;

Recognize the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens
of Israel and the stateless Negev Bedouins to full equality; and

Respect, protect and promote the rights of Palestinian refugees
to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN Resolution
194.

"calling on our brothers and sisters in the trade union movement
internationally to stop handling goods imported from or exported to
Israel. The trade union movement has a proud history of direct action
against Apartheid in South Africa, the Congress of South African Trade
Unions has joined us in the call for direct action to end Israel’s
impunity."

Tricycle Theatre boycotts Israeli Embassy
funded film festival

The Tricycle Theatre in Kilburn, London has reponded to protests at
the theatre last year against their hosting of the 2013 Israeli Film
Festival. Indhu Rubasingham, artistic director of the Tricycle said
in relation to their decisoin to withdraw form the 2014 festival, "The
festival receives funding from the Israeli embassy and given the current
conflict in Israel and Gaza, we feel it is inappropriate to accept financial
support from any government agency involved."

The Tricycle Theatre is a leading London fringe theatre with a distinguished
record of mounting radical plays.

National Union of Students vote to support
BDS

The British NUS has long opposed BDS but in a dramatic reversal of
policy it has agreed that it would support local student unions who
“impose sanctions on Israel" and it would "support campaigns
to boycott Israeli products on their university campuses.”

An NUS spokesperson said: "The motion passed by our national executive
council commits us to ensuring that, as far as is practical, NUS does
not employ or work with companies identified as facilitating Israel's
military capacity, human rights abuses or illegal settlement activity,
and to actively work to cut ties with those that do."

Largest UK trade union calls for BDS

Unite, the largest UK trade union passed
a resolution which commits it to develop a “campaigning and
leverage strategy around BDS within the next 12 months" at its
annual policy conference.

Tell the organisers of the 2015 Conference
on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion don't go to Tel Aviv

It seems strange that a conference
whose theme is 'dealing with diverse identities ' is planned to
be held in Tel Aviv - unless the conference organisers believe
that you best deal with diversity with bombs, shells and Apartheid
walls.

The
CES resolution "endorses and will honor the call of Palestinian
civil society for a boycott of Israeli academic institutions. Be
it also resolved that the Critical Ethnic Studies Association supports
the protected rights of students and scholars everywhere to engage in
research and public speaking about Palestine and the state of Israel
and in support of the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement."

The
ALA agreed "we are resolving to act against a state that has
taken actions that have resulted in the dispersal of millions of Palestinian
people around the Middle East and North Africa (including Egypt and
Tunisia), that has targeted African refugees by placing them in internment
camps indefinitely, and that has collaborated with authoritarian regimes
in Africa, either by their work in extractive industries, or in the
shipment of arms to repressive regimes. The resolution, like the long
boycott of South Africa and of Southern Rhodesia, is intended to awaken
the world’s conscience to a situation that must change."

French academic boycott campaign website
attacked

The website of AURDIP, the French academic boycott campaign,
has been attacked along with the sites of other French supporters of
Palestinian rights. The campaigns have issued this statement:

Several websites of the Palestine solidarity movement have been
attacked by a hacker who uses the pseudonym "Ulcan" and who
has claimed responsibility on the internet for a number of these attacks.
The sites in question belong to Agence Média Palestine, UJFP
(French Jewish Union for Peace), CCIPPP (International Civic Campaign
for the Protection of the Palestinian People), AURDIP (Association of
Academics for the Respect of International Law in Palestine), the Platform
of French NGOs for Palestine, the Collective 69 in support of the Palestinian
people, and others. The attacks continue and this list is incomplete.

Moreover, we have learned in
an article dated July 27 on the website of the newspaper Le
Parisien that the same individual or group of individuals using
the same pseudonym is responsible for hacking the website of Yann Galut,
Socialist deputy for the department of the Cher. Galut is known for
his active opposition to the extreme right and called for participation
in the demonstration, held on July 23, and organized by the "National
collective for a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians."

While the Israeli army is perpetrating war crimes in Gaza, and while
the number of victims continues to grow, those who seek to bring an
end to the massacre by mobilizing public opinion, and by using the elementary
democratic rights of freedom of expression and freedom of assembly,
are coming under attack. We will not be reduced to silence, and we will
use all available legal means to identify and punish those responsible
for this crime.

Student workers union branch at University
of Calafornia issue open letter in support of the academic boycott

The Joint Council of the UAW 2865, a body made up of 83 elected officers
who oversee the affairs of the 13,000 member-strong student-worker union
at the University of California, has published an open letter that outlines
their intent to support the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS)
movement against public institutions and corporations that profit from
occupation and apartheid. This means that they will seek a full membership
vote within the upcoming academic year in support of BDS. As academics,
they are calliing upon members to honour the academic and cultural boycott
of Israel.

Divest your trade union pension — and other — funds
from Israel Bonds as well as from corporations and banks that complicit
in Israel’s occupation and human rights violations,

Dissociate from Israeli trade unions which are complicit in the
occupation

Support our call for a military embargo on Israel

Share information with your members about the siege and destruction
of Gaza and ask your members to boycott Israeli products and to share
their knowledge with family, co-workers, and friends.

Gaza attack leads prominent academic to
rethink his opposition to the academic boycott

Professor Martin Shaw has long been sceptical about boycotting Israel
in general and the academic and cultural boycott in particular. Israel’s
assault on Gaza has forced him to rethink his position.

In an essay on Open Democracy ‘Boycotting
Israel: the situation has changed and I have changed my mind too’.
He used to believe, ‘As an academic, I valued academic discourse
and although I knew that Israeli universities were implicated in injustices
against Palestinians, they were also disproportionately centres of debate
and even opposition.’ But now he argues, ‘A boycott of Israeli
institutions is a price they will have to pay to prevent a repeat of
what we have seen over the last two weeks - or worse.’

Israeli planes severely damage Islamic
University of Gaza

The Israeli airforce launched a massive bombing attack on the Islamic
University of Gaza causing extensive damage. The Israeli military claimed
that the university housed “research and development of weapon
manufacturing"”; this repeats the claims made in 2009 for
the bombing of the university during Cast lead. This claim was investigated
by the Goldstone Commission who reported that they “did not find
any information about their use as a military facility or their contribution
to a military effort that might have made them a legitimate target in
the eyes of the Israeli armed forces."

If weapons development makes Universities legitimate targets for attack
then Technion, Tel Aviv University and other Israeli Universities that
celebrate their arms research may feel equally vulnerable.

Rectors of 112 Turkish Universities support
call for Academic boycott

The rectors of 112 Turkish Universities, appalled by the Israeli assault
on Gaza, have issued a forceful declaration of support for the Palestinian
people and resolved to take all possible action in their support. Inter
alia they have declared they will:

stop all kinds of academic, cultural and social relations with
Israeli universities that do not blame the massacre of Israeli Government,
until that inhuman massacre against our brothers in Gaza is stopped
and Gaza blockade is removed,

continue all kinds of academic, cultural and social relations
with Israeli universities and Jewish academicians that react, raise
their voice and protest against the massacre carried out by the Israeli
government.

Over
1500 academics signed an open letter calling on their Israeli counterparts
to "...to join your voices in an open and resounding protest about
these war crimes by the Israeli government – your government.
We urge you to stand up and be counted, to answer the call of your Gazan
colleagues and make your voice heard. We hope that you will be able
and willing to come together and voice your total opposition to the
war crimes committed in your name! We realize you may feel worried and
lonely, as dissent in Israel now carries a high price. We stand with
you when you take this conscientious stand." 82
Israeli academics have responded to the call signed by such prominent
intellectuals as: Prof. Noam Chomsky; Prof. Etienne Balibar; John Berger;
Angela Davis; Naomi Klein; Prof. Richard Falk; Prof. Michael Rosen;
Prof. Slavoj Zizek; and Prof. Jacques Rancière,

BRICUP welcomes the stand taken by these 78 who have braved an atmosphere
of chauvinist intimidation. There must be many more who would like to
sign but are too frightened not just for their jobs but for their personal
safety if they take a stand. We are however aware that the public endorsers
and the silent supporters together are a tiny proportion of Israeli
academia. Meanwhile the leaders of many Israeli universities have announced
rewards for those taking part in the onslaught on Gaza, and have taken
disciplinary action against staff who have protested.

Israeli universities despite claims to the contrary made by opponents
of the academic boycott are no havens of liberal dissent; their corporate
complicity in the worst actions of the Israeli state entirely validates
the boycott of Israeli academic institutions.

The statement signed by the 78 reads:

The signatories to this statement, all academics at Israeli universities,
wish it to be known that they utterly deplore the aggressive military
strategy being deployed by the Israeli government. The slaughter of
large numbers of wholly innocent people is placing yet more barriers
of blood in the way of the negotiated agreement which is the only
alternative to the occupation and endless oppression of the Palestinian
people. Israel must agree to an immediate cease-fire, and start negotiating
in good faith for the end of the occupation and settlements, through
a just peace agreement.

If you are an Israeli acedemic who wishes to add their name to the
statement please contact Prof.
Rachel Giora with your name, title and affiliation.

Bar Ilan University attacks lecturer who
empathises with Palestinian victims

Law professor Hanoch Sheinman wrote to his students saying “
[he hopes his message] finds you in a safe place, and that you, your
families and those dear to you are not among the hundreds of people
that were killed, the thousands wounded, or the tens of thousands whose
homes were destroyed or were forced to leave their homes during, or
as a direct result of, the violent confrontation in the Gaza Strip and
its environs.” This innocuous expression of sympathy evoked a
storm of protest from students, faculty and administrators according
to a
report in Ha'aretz.

Dean of the law faculty, Prof. Shahar Lifshitz, issued an urgent message
to the students . “I was shocked to learn of the email sent to
you by Professor Sheinman, it was a hurtful letter, and since this morning
we have been justifiably flooded with messages from students and family
members" despite going on to claim, "The faculty champions
the values of pluralism, tolerance, and freedom of expression".
Professor Lifshitz told students he would uphold freedom of expression
promising that “the matter will be handled with the appropriate
seriousness.”

Nurse who called the IDF 'war criminals'
on his Facebook page apologises to get his job back

Sheba, university-affiliated, hospital has rescinded the suspension
of a Palestinian Israeli male nurse who sharply criticized the Israel
Defense Forces on his Facebook page. The nurse had to apologize in writing
to the hospital management

The nurse wrote on Facebook that “the Israel Defense Forces are
war criminals, only killing innocent people, and the state is claiming
[it is done] ‘by mistake and we are investigating the incident.’”

In Federal Court today (24 April), Judge Alan Robertson struck out
those parts of the claim that seek to underpin the factual basis of
the allegations that Prof Jake Lynch has breached the Racial Discrimination
Act.

He gave the applicants permission to re-cast those and any other paragraphs
of the claim to rectify the defects of their case.

He ordered the applicants to pay Prof Lynch’s costs of the application
brought to Strike Out the Claim and has given permission for those costs
to be recovered now rather than at the conclusion of the proceedings.

He also ordered that Mr Hamilton and the other applicants undertake
to the court within 21 days to not dispose of or encumber his Australian
assets without notifying Prof Lynch (within 21 days). He will not require
the applicants to establish a fund to secure any cost orders that may
be made against them in the future. However, if that undertaking is
not given he will make orders requiring the applications to give security
for costs.

He has also ordered that the maximum costs, as they occur after 21
February 2014, payable to the successful party will be $300,000, subject
to further order".

So - the issue has not gone away yet, but on several important legal
points, the day went strongly in our favour. We are pleased and relieved!

#Mass pressure reinstates Northeastern
Students for Justice in Palestine

Northeastern SJP have sent out this message to supporters:

'Thanks to the absolutely relentless support we have received from
around the world, Northeastern University has backed down on the suspension
of Students for Justice in Palestine! We are reinstated and will be
fully functional for the fall semester. This is a huge victory for free
speech on campus, but also for the entire Palestine solidarity movement
in the US. Our fight demonstrates that we will no longer tolerate discussions
of Palestine and Israeli crimes being marginalized because some may
disagree with us and use their power to try and silence us. Our message
was heard at Northeastern loud and clear, so now let's spread it around
the country. Viva Palestine!'

Right wing students force Tel Aviv University
to cancel talk by Israeli Arab

A Land Day lecture by Mohammed Kena’ana at Tel Aviv University
was cancelled after protests by student members of Right Wing and far
Right parties. They forced the university administrators to retreat
from their earlier commitment to free speech in a move praised by censorship
promoting group, Im Tirzu.

Kena'ana had served a prison sentence for passing information to Hezbollah.
Solidarity Against Fascism at TAU said, “It is a call against
freedom of expression and pluralism, some of the most important values
of a democratic society,...Kena’ana is a free Israeli citizen
who has already served his sentence.”

Tel Aviv University cancels talk by Israeli Arab who served time
for aiding Hezbollah - Ha'aretz

Update on action on North American campuses

North American students continue to campaign to support Palestinian
rights and promote BDS despite constant sniping from Zionists.

Haifa University sets up for-credit course
in lying

Hasbara courses are not unusual in Israeli universities
but previously they have been short courses outside the main programme.
Now Haifa University has launched as a four credit course, ‘Ambassadors
Online: Volunteering, Zionism, Digital Diplomacy’, to be offered
by the University’s Department of Multi-Disciplinary Studies to
prepare students to be unofficial “ambassadors” for Israel
on the Internet.
The lack of the critical approach to be expected of any legitimate university
programme is apparent from the endorsements on the programme’s
home page which include such propaganda organisations as StandWithUs
and Birthright Israel and also the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and
Public Diplomacy & Diaspora Affairs.
In mounting this programme Haifa University further undermines those
arguments against the Academic Boycott based on the claims that Israeli
universities are independent of the state.

American Studies Association adds over
700 new members since Israel boycott call

The ASA has flourished since its historic decision to support the academic
boycott. Despite fierce attempts by Israel's supporters to demonise
the ASA, attempts to encourage disaffiliations and legal threats membership
is growing fast and membership revenue is at a 25 year high.

Academics for Palestine publish 'Academia
Against Apartheid – The case for an academic boycott of Israel'

The Irish academic boycott campaign,
Academics
for Palestine, have published a new booklet 'Academia Against
Apartheid – The case for an academic boycott of Israel'.
This booklet provides an up to date case for the academic boycott
and provides effective rebuttals to the arguments made against
the boycott.
This booklet demonstrates the growing impact of the Irish campaign

King’s College London Students' Union
endorses BDS

The students' union of King's College London voted to endorse the Boycott,
Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign at its Student General Meeting
on 25 March by 348 votes to 252 The motion recalls how KCLSU took a
stand against South African Apartheid in the 1980s. The motin calls
for an invstigation of KCL's links with Israel and for the College "Israel
and from companies directly or indirectly supporting the Israeli occupation
and apartheid policies"

BRICUP speakers win BDS debate at Leeds
University

Jonathan Rosenhead and Sue Blackwell of BRICUP debated BDS at Leeds
University on 19 March against Hugh Hubbard (Leeds UNiversity) and Robert
Fine (Warwick University). The motion "This house believes that
UK academics should join the movement for academic boycott by refusing
to engage with any Israeli academic institutions until Israel ends the
occupation and abides by international law.” was supported
53:37 before the speeches and by 68:23 after the debate. Over a third
of the opponents of BDS changed their minds after hearing the arguments.

UCU Scotland tells Home Secretary to bar
Tsipi Livni

The 2014 Annual Congress of the University and College Union Scotland
Congress (UCU Scotland) unanimouslyvoted on 28 March to condemn the
planned visit by Israeli war criminal Tzipi Livni. The Israeli
politician was given a rare diplomatic passport by the UK Government
in 2011 specifically to protect her from the risk of arrest and prosecution
for complicity in Israeli war crimes. Livni is planning to speak
at a provocative Nakba Day meeting of the JNF (Jewish National Fund)
at a secret central London venue on Thursday 15th May. UCU Scotland
Congress called on Theresa May to refuse Livni entry to the UK. The
JNF purchases land which it will then not allow Palestinians to purchase
or live on. They are heavily involved in current efforts to dispossess
the Bedouin of the Negev.

Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)
votes to seek suspension of Israeli association

RIBA is the national professional organisation of British architects.
Its council met on 19 March and passed a motion proposed by Angela Brady,
former president of RIBA and backed by Architects and Planners for Justice
for Palestinians (APJP). The motion was agreed by 23 to 16 with 10 abstentions
after a heated debate. RIBA is the first UK professional association
ot take action against Israel for its breaches of international law.

Since the Israeli Association of United Architects (IAUA) has
paid no regard to the UIA resolution 13 of 2005 and 2009, the RIBA calls
on the UIA, as the international guardian of professional and ethical
standards in our profession, to suspend the membership of the Israeli
Association of United Architects, until it acts to resist these illegal
projects, and observes international law, and the UIA Accords and Resolution
13.

Resolution 13 stated:

The UIA Council condemns development projects and the construction
of buildings on land that has been ethnically purified or illegally
appropriated, and projects based on regulations that are ethnically
or culturally discriminatory, and similarly it condemns all action contravening
the fourth Geneva Convention.

US campus BDS activity continues to spread

American students are responding to threats to activists by intensifying
BDS campaigns on more campuses.

On 18 March students at Loyola, a Jesuit University in Chicago, agreed
to divest from companies complicit in aiding the Israeli Occupation
of Palestine. They identified Caterpillar, General Electric, Hewlitt-Packard,
G4S, Raytheon, Elbit Systems, SodaStream, and Veolia. The vote at the
student senate was passed nem con with 26 votes in favour and 2 abstentions;
it followed a year long campaign by Loyola SJP and a petition signed
by over 800 students.

On the same day students at the University of Michigan started an indefinite
occupation in protest at the student government’s refusal to hold
a vote on divestment.

University of Windsor, Canada, faces donor
threats and Islamophobic backlash after BDS vote

Students at the University of Windsor (UW) in Ontario, Canada passed
a motion to support BDS by 798 to 585 votes. Like most student moves
to support Palestinina rights this provoked threats and reprisals. The
backlash this time had an extreme islamophobic flavour.

Richard Spenser, a major donor to the university not only promised
ot withdraw his funding but did so saying, ' I am reasonably certain
that the majority, if not all, of this small percentage of the student
body are of the Muslim faith, which promotes violence and hatred toward
the Jews in the middle east.' This prompts the questin of why the univesrity
was prepared to accept donations from someone who so easily uses racist
slurs and whether they apply due diligence before acepting donations.

Barnard College Censors Students for Justice
in Palestine

On Monday 10 March, to kick off End Israeli Apartheid Week, the Barnard-Columbia
chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine hung up a banner in front
of Barnard Hall, featuring a map of historical Palestine. In response,
students and parents from campus organizations like Lion PAC and Columbia
Barnard Hillel immediately began a concerted email campaign, demanding
the sign be removed because of its “anti-Semitic” content. And so, despite
the fact that SJP obtained official permission to put up the banner,
even explaining the message of their sign beforehand, Barnard President
Debora Spar made the decision to tear down the banner the next morning.

Haim Brasheeth and Ghada Kharmi speak on
the academic boycott on Irish radio

Boston students fighting back against ban
on campus Palestine group

Boston’s Northeastern University has suspended the on-campus Students
for Justice in Palestine and launched police investigations into students.
The administration also threatened two students with suspension or expulsion
for distributing mock eviction leaflets on campus, a popular direct
action many Palestine solidarity groups undertake during the annual
Israeli Apartheid Week of events. The two SJP members who were threatened
with expulsion-level charges are the only women of color in the group
that distributed the leaflets.

Students say the explicit threats of expulsion of the two women has
apparently been rescinded due to the outpouring of pressure by SJP activists
and supporters of free speech around the country.

National University of Galway (Ireland)
Students’ Union votes to support BDS

A powerful BDS motion has been passed by NUI Galway Students’
Union by a 2:1 majority in a poll which recorded over 3000 votes.

Fionnghuala Nic Roibeaird, Auditor of the NUIG PSS, said in a statement:
“This is a landmark victory in Ireland for the growing international
campaign to boycott Israel until it complies with international law
and ends its illegal occupation of Palestine, and no doubt NUIG SU is
just the first of many SUs in Ireland to endorse such a campaign.”

Leading US Scholars condemn censorship
and intimidation of Israel critics

Professors Judith Butler and Rashid Khalidi co-authored a statement
objecting to increased incidents of censorship and intimidation in academic
and cultural institutions for the purposes of imposing illegitimate
limitations on freedom of expression relating to Israel and Palestine.
Subsequently their statement has bene endorsed by over 150 academics
from many countries.

Kent University Students Union kicks out
G4S

The student union at the University of Kent at Canterbury is to terminate
its contract with G4S following an “outcry” over its role in human rights
abuses in Palestine, South Africa, the UK and other countries.
G4S provides security and incarceration “services” to Israeli military
bases, checkpoints, illegal settlements and prisons at which Palestinian
political prisoners are held without trial and subjected to abuse and
torture.

Israelis 'not Zionist enough' for Oxford
Israel Society

The university's Israeli students have left the Israel Society in the
hands of a group of determined British Jews, saying the organization
doesn't realize that not every Israeli supports the Israeli government.
They suggest the society rename itself the 'Netanyahu Support Society'.

New York State Senate launches attack on
ASA over boycott

The orchestrated attack on the American Studies Association following
its boycott decision has intensified. NY State Senate
voted by 56-4 to bar spending taxpayer funds on academic groups that
support boycotting Israel.

The move is likely to be ineffective. It is opoen to challenge on Fist
Ammendment free speech grounds. Further it exempts boycotts that target
“unlawful discriminatory practices” - exactly the focus
of ASA's action.

US Native American and Indigenous Studies
Association joins academic boycott

The council of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association
(NAISA) declares its support for the boycott of Israeli academic institutions...NAISA
is dedicated to free academic inquiry about, with, and by Indigenous
communities. The NAISA Council protests the infringement of the academic
freedom of Indigenous Palestinian academics and intellectuals in the
Occupied Territories and Israel who are denied fundamental freedoms
of movement, expression, and assembly, which we uphold.

On January 12, 2014, a delegation of six academics and a labor activist
traveled from Jordan to Palestine through the Israeli checkpoint. The
delegation is led by Professor Rabab Abdulhadi of San Francisco State
University and is meeting with Palestinian academics to better understand
conditions on the ground and to facilitate future collaborations. Four
members of the delegation, including Abdulhadi and Professor Junaid
Rana of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, were held at
the checkpoint and interrogated by Israeli security, the Ministry of
the Interior, and the military, for over ten hours.

NYU academic trade union backs free debate
on academic boycott

The members of the AAUP chapter at NYU hold a variety of views about
the efficacy of academic boycotts. In recognition of that range of opinion,
we do not support President Sexton’s condemnation of the American
Studies Association’s resolution to boycott Israeli universities.
Faculty have a right to express their own opinions, in whatever form,
about the suppression of freedoms among academics overseas, and a boycott
of institutions is a legitimate exercise of that right. University presidents
who unilaterally issue statements that do not reflect the diversity
of opinion among their faculty are overstepping their office.

However, we do agree with the NYU administration’s response to
the proposed legislation in the
New York State Assembly. The bill (A.8392) is a clear and present
threat to basic academic freedoms, not in the Middle East but here in
New York State. Elected officials are seeking to use their fiscal powers
to limit the range of academic expression simply because they disagree
with its content. Passing this legislation would set a very dangerous
precedent, reminiscent, for many of us, of the loyalty oaths of the
McCarthy era.

US Modern Languages Association condemns
restrictions on Palestinian academics' travel

The Modern Language Association's Delegate Assembly approved a resolution
on 11 Jnauary urging the U.S. State Department to express concern over
what the measure calls restrictions on scholars' ability to travel to
Israel and the West Bank to work at Palestinian universities.

Israel Academic Monitor, a leading anti-BDS group commented, "Whatever
the final outcome, the academic boycott has achieved its main goal,
to keep the Palestinian issue in the headlines."

Call to Boycott Israeli Cinema and TV Studies
Conference at Tel Aviv University

BRICUP along with our colleagues in the USA (USACBI)
and France (AURDIP)
have issued a call to boycott the Cinema and TV conference planned for
June 2014 at TAU.

This boycott call follows on recent decisions by a growing number of
international scholars and academic organizations and institutions to
boycott Israeli institutions in protest of the US-supported Israeli
occupation of Palestine, settlement expansion, the Israeli Wall, and
other violations of international law. Nearly 40 international film/media
scholars, practitioners, and professionals as well as other noted intellectuals,
artists, and activists have signed a letter endorsing a boycott of an
Assistant Professor position opening in Cinema/Visual Culture at Hebrew
University.

Take action: End EU support for Israel’s
arms companies

The EU's research programme does not only support Israel's arms industry
indirectly by funding military and security related projects at Israeli
universities. It also directly funds Elbit and Israel Aerospace Industries
and other leading Israeli weapons manufacturers.

War on Want
is seeking signatures to an open leter to EU commissioners Catherine
Ashton and Máire Geoghegan-Quinn demanding that Israeli arms companies
be excluded from Horizon 2020, the next round of EU research funding.

American Studies Association members vote
2 to 1 to support the academic boycott

The members of the American Studies Association have endorsed the Association’s
participation in a boycott of Israeli academic institutions. In an election
that attracted 1252 voters, the largest number of participants in the
organization’s history, 66.05% of voters endorsed the resolution,
while 30.5% of voters voted no and 3.43% abstained.

The resolution is in solidarity with scholars and students deprived
of their academic freedom and it aspires to enlarge that freedom for
all, including Palestinians. The ASA’s endorsement of the academic
boycott emerges from the context of US military and other support for
Israel; Israel’s violation of international law and UN resolutions;
the documented impact of the Israeli occupation on Palestinian scholars
and students; the extent to which Israeli institutions of higher education
are a party to state policies that violate human rights; and finally,
the support of such a resolution by a majority of ASA members.

The American Studies Association National
Council votes unanimously to endorse academic boycott of Israel

In an unprecedented step a major US academic institution has voted
to support the academic boycott. One year ago, the Academic and Community
Activism Caucus of the ASA asked the Executive Committee (EC) to consider
a resolution to honor the call from Palestinian civil society to support
the academic boycott of Israel. The EC forwarded the resolution to the
National Council. Following extensive deliberative procedures the Council
unanimously decided to issue and recommend to a
boycott motion to its members.

The American Studies Association is the oldest and largest USA association
devoted to the interdisciplinary study of American culture and history;
it has 5,000 individual members along with 2,200 library and other institutional
subscribers.

Michael Sommer, head of the Confederation of German Trade
Unions, used his speech acceptig the first Arno Lustiger Award to launch
an
attack on BDS which falsely associated the campaign with Nazi boycotts
of Jews.

2 Keynotes pull out of Hebrew University
Oral History Conference

We are pleased to announce that the planned June 2014 “International
Oral History Conference” being organized by Hebrew University
of Jerusalem has been dealt a double blow with the cancellation of their
two international keynote speakers: Alessandro Portelli (Italy) and
Mary Marshall Clark (USA). The university’s claim to be
hosting the “first international oral history conference”
was unfounded when they made it; it is even less true now.

Right-wing Christian Zionists back US plan
to take over the Nazareth Academic Institute

Texas A&M University is planning to take over the Nazareth Academic
Institute, Nazareth is the Israel cit ywith the larget number of Palestinian
inhabitants. The take-over is backed by Christian Zionist Texas Governor
Rick Perry "[Christians] have a clear directive to support Israel,
so from my perspective it’s pretty easy. Both as an American and
as a Christian, I am going to stand with Israel”. It is also backed
by John Hagee, leader of the lobby group Christians United for Israel,

Planting this zioinst backed project in Nazareth undermines efforts
to develop a Palestinian University in Israel, a long held aspiration
to build highrer education independent of the Israeli state.

Academic demand for 'no watering down of
bar on EU funding to settlements'

Following the earlier call, prominent professors, including five Fellows
of the Royal Society as well as a member of the French Académie
des Sciences, have written to Catherine Ashton, the EU's head of Foreign
Policy, expressing their dismay at these reports.

BRICUP and our French counterparts AURDIP have sent a letter to Catherine
Ashton, EU High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and
Security Policy, demanding that the EU does not soften or postpone the
implementation of the EU
Guidelines on Israeli Settlements.

The letter gathered more that 450 signatures from Academics across
the EU and are supported by almost 100 from elsewhere. The signatures
were gathered in just two daysand the non-EU signatures were not sought
but came from Academics outraged thet the EU might buckle to US and
Israeli pressure to abandon even this mild action against illegal settlement
activity.

Urgent: sign letter to tell EU to resist
Israel and US pressure to drop research boycott

Sign by 11 September

The European Union recently announced new
guidelines that should prevent Israeli universities, companies and
projects based in settlements from receiving EU funding. This important
policy change is the result of grassroots campaigning across Europe,
including a letter to the EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton signed
by 250 academics from across Europe last year.

Israel and the US are applying pressure on the EU to drop the new guidelines,
or water them down to the point where they become meaningless. ahead
of negotiations on Israel's participation in the upcoming Horizon 2020
EU research funding program starting on Thursday. John Kerry has called
for the new guidelines to be dropped and a US official has claimed that
there is an "openness" to this request among EU officials.
The intensive round of talks between the EU and the Israeli’s
about the latter’s participation in the Horizon 2020 programme
opens this Thursday September 12th.

The British Committee for Universities in Palestine and the Association
des Universitaires pour le Respect du Droit International en Palestine
are organising a joint letter to be signed by academics from across
Europe urging the EU to maintain its current stance.

Tell the University of Manchester to abandon
its partnership with Technion

The University of Manchester has signed a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’
with Technion- Israel Institute of Technology to facilitate joint research
between the two institutions. Technion is heavily implicated in researching
technology for home demolitions including developing the notorious D-9
bulldozers.

Campaign to Boycott the Oral History Conference
at Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Oral historians and other academics from Palestine, Israel and elsewhere
have issued a call to boycott the June 2014 ‘International Conference
on Oral History’ organised by the Oral History Division of the Avraham
Harman Institute of Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The call has been signed by over 350 academics including over 70 involved
in Oral History.

Defend Australian supporters of BDS from
Israeli legal attack

The Israeli Law Centre (Shurat HaDin) is taking legal action against
Professors Lynch and Rees but has instead lodged a complaint against
Prof Jake Lynch with the Australian Human Rights Commission alleging
racial discrimination and racial hatred under the Racial Discrimination
Act 1975 for his support of the academic boycott.

BDS supporters are being invited to show their support for Jake Lynch
by offering to be named as co-defendants.

This report from the Right
to Education Campaign focuses on the implications of Israeli restrictions
on entry and residency for foreign academics wishing to serve at institutes
of higher education operating in the occupied Palestinian territories.
It is important to note that the term “foreign” is something
of a misnomer: Israel treats all individuals without an Israeli-issued
identity card [“hawiyya”] as a foreigner even if they are
of Palestinian origin and even if they and/or their parents are born
in Palestine. Thus “foreign” academics refers to anyone
who does not hold a Palestinian identity card and must therefore enter
the oPt on a foreign passport regardless of whether or not they are
of Palestinian origin. “Foreign” academics or “foreign”
nationals could therefore be of Palestinian origin (as is frequently
the case) or have no Palestinian roots.

Stephen Hawking declines invitation to
attend Israeli conference

We understand that Professor Stephen Hawking has declined his invitation
to attend the Israeli Presidential Conference Facing Tomorrow 2013,
due to take place in Jerusalem on 18-20 June. This is his independent
decision to respect the boycott, based upon his knowledge of Palestine,
and on the unanimous advice of his own academic contacts there.

UPDATE 8 May 1600 BDT: The statement above has been issued with the
specific endorsement of Professor Hawking's office. His staff sent us
the following message on 7 May "Just spoken to Tim [Tim Holt, Acting
Director of Communications for Cambridge University] and we are both
in agreement with the quote - and as you say - sensible to get this
out rather than a lot of differing opinions." We have seen the
letter that Professor Hawking sent to the Jerusalem organisers giving
his clear reasons for not attending and are seeking his permission to
release the letter but will not do so until we have his approval. We
regret the misinformation being circulated about this matter.

UPDATE 8 May 1900 BDT: Cambridge University
re-flip flops and confirms what BRICUP has been saying is true:

“We have now received confirmation from Professor Hawking’s
office that a letter was sent on Friday to the Israeli President’s
office regarding his decision not to attend the Presidential Conference,
based on advice from Palestinian academics that he should respect
the boycott.

“We had understood previously that his decision was based
purely on health grounds having been advised by doctors not to fly.”

They always had that knowledge (see 1600 update). We await apologies
from the participants in the Hasbara storm who accused us of lying.

Professor Hawking's letter on 3 May to
the conference organisers said, "I accepted the invitation to the
Presidential Conference with the intention that this would not only
allow me to express my opinion on the prospects for a peace settlement
but also because it would allow me to lecture on the West Bank. However,
I have received a number of emails from Palestinian academics. They
are unanimous that I should respect the boycott. In view of this, I
must withdraw from the conference. Had I attended, I would have stated
my opinion that the policy of the present Israeli government is likely
to lead to disaster."

Teachers Union of Ireland calls
for Academic Boycott of Israel in unanimous vote; first academic union
in Europe to do so

At its Annual Congress, the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI)
became the first academic union in Europe to endorse the Palestinian
call for an academic boycott of Israel. The motion, which refers to
Israel as an “apartheid state”, calls for “all members
to cease all cultural and academic collaboration with Israel, including
the exchange of scientists, students and academic personalities, as
well as all cooperation in research programmes” was passed by
a unanimous vote.

Ronnie Fraser, a Zionist member of UCU (University and College Union),
with the support of leaders of the UK Jewish establishment attempted
to sue his Union for antisemitism.

In an unusually robust judgement the tribunal found the case “an
impermissible attempt to achieve a political end by litigious means”
and a case which showed a “worrying disregard for pluralism, tolerance
and freedom of expression”. The points made by leading lawyer
Anthony Julius were dismissed as “palpably groundless”,
“obviously hopeless” and “devoid of any merit”.

This is another example of the use of the courts in a lawfare campaign
to silence criticism of the policies of Israel and support for Palestinian
Rights.

Academic Boycott debated at The World Social
Forum – Free Palestine

BRICUP played an active role in ensuring that teh Academic boycott
was full discused at the WSF-Free Palestine in Porto Alegre, Brazil,
November 28-December 1, 2012. The event was successful in energizing
a cadre of Brazilian students to vcampaign ot extend Academic Boycott
activities to Latin America.

BRICUP tells Stevie Wonder don't play for
Apartheid IDF

Stevie Wonder was one of the staunchest opponents of Apartheid South
Africa. He has caused great pain to many of his fans worldwide by his
decision to play in a benefit for the 'Friends of the Israeli Defence
Force' in LA on 6 December. Not only is Israel imposing its own apartheid
system on its Palestinian inhabitants, last week it announced plans
for a segregated apartheid bus service, but it was the last best
friend of white South Africa.

Cultural workers and social justice leaders have called on New York's
Carnegie Hall to cancel this week’s performance of the Israel
Philharmonic Orchestra and respect the Palestinian-led boycott.

Adalah-NY posted an open letter, which has been signed by Pulitzer
Prize-winning author and social justice activist Alice Walker, Pink
Floyd’s Roger Waters, Palestinian American poet and activist Remi
Kanazi, and dozens of others.

Interrogating Israel Studies in the Academy:
A Call for Action

'Don't dance with Israeli apartheid': BRICUP
sends open letter to Batsheva Dance Company

Batsheva, the leading Israeli Dance company attracted protest and disruption
when they performed at the Edinburgh International Festival. BRICUP
have followed up that protest with an open letter demanding they cancel
the rest of their UK tour unless they 'at least decline Ministry of
Foreign Affairs funding, and state publicly that Batsheva will not be
used to cover up the Occupation'.

Over 600 academics protest at the closure
of Ben Gurion Uni Politics Department

Over 600 academics from across the globe have signed a petition to
the Israeli Council of Higher Education (CHE) calling on them not to
close the Department of Politics and Government of Ben Gurion University
of the Negev (BGU), despite evidence form their own enquiry of the high
academic standing of the department.

The attack on BGU politics department is part of the campaign by the
Israeli government to silence any critical voices in Israeli Universities
and elsewhere.

Batsheva, an Israeli Government supported dance company were invited
to appear at the Edinbugh International Festival. A widely supported,
including leading Scottish cultural figures like Liz Lochhead and Iain
Banks, letter of protest was sent to the Festival organisers but they
did not withdraw the invitation.

The Edinburgh City Guide review said:

"The EIF has a duty, to its audience and performers, to behave
in a responsible fashion. It is questionable whether inviting a company
that is hailed by the Israeli Foreign Ministry as Israel’s, ‘best
global ambassadors’, at this particular moment in time, is a responsible
act. This performance never had a hope of running smoothly, leaving
both audience and artists vulnerable and with a rather nasty taste in
the mouth.

The audience were ushered out of the emergency exit doors with the
chants from protesters, still outside the building, of ‘Your tickets
were covered in Palestinian blood’ ringing in our ears. This was
not one of the Edinburgh International Festival’s finest moments."

BRICUP calls on the Organizers at York
St John University: quit HUJ project

BRICUP has urged the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at
York St John University to cancel its proposed joint conference with
the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJ) on ‘Mediating Peace:
Reconciliation through Art, Music and Film’, in Jerusalem in November
2012, and to end its association until the HUJ ends its complicity in
Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine and its human rights
abuses against the Palestinian people.

250 European academics tell the EU 'end
involvement of Israeli arms companies in EU research programs'

Over 250 academics from 14 European countries have written an open
letter to Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, European Commissioner for Research,
Innovation and Science to tell her to stop aiding the Israeli arms industry
through the EU research programme.

The signatories, include Gérard Toulouse, a member of the French
Academy of Science, Malcolm Levitt, a member of the UK Royal Society,
and renowned philosopher Slavjoj Zizek. They point out that the involvement
of Israeli companies that help Israel violate international law in EU
funded research programs “undermines both the reputation of these
programs and the stated goals of the European Union and its member states”.

BRICUP tells British Council 'Don't break
international law'

The British Council is sponsoring first ever Israeli Film and Television
Festival in London's cinemas in June. They are compunding their support
of Apartheid culture by failing to object to ‘a special tasting
by Golan Wines’ before many of the screenings.

Golan wines come from he illegally annexed Golan Heights and are an
illegal product under international law.

Palestinian rights supporters held a lively protest outside the Globe
Theatre on 28 May to codemn the Globe's invitation to
Habima Israel's National Theatre. Inside activists, disgusted at
Habima's decison to support the illegal occupation by performing in
settlements, silently held up banners and were seized and thrown out.

Sir Simon Rattle and Placido Domingo ignore
the Palestinians and hold on to the cash

BRICUP wote to Sir Simon Ratle and Placido Domingo asking them to refuse
to go to Israel to receive the $100,000 Wolf Prize.

Sadly they went and took the cheque and the box of chocolates; bouquet
of roses and diploma that went with it. They did not even take the opportunity,
which previoius recipients had, to use the ceremony as a chance to denounce
Israel's crimes or donate the prize money to Palestinain organisations.
Then they could have kept the chocolates, roses and diploma and also
kept some of their integrity, but times must be tough for global musical
super stars and they needed the money more.

Hasbara posts in Israel Studies threaten academic integrity

Since 2009 several UK universities have created posts in Israel Studies,
all funded by external donors with histories of uncritical support for
Israel. Some explicitly promote political aims, especially by diverting
attention from Israel’s occupation of Palestine. Such efforts
threaten academic integrity and freedom.

Bricup has prepared a briefing
document to provide guidance about the threat and about strategies
for local campaigns of opposition.

Please send further information and comments for future development
of the briefing document or requests to support local campaigns via
endorsement or practical assistance to blockhasbarastudies@bricup.org.uk

Tell the Red Hot Chili Peppers: drop your
Israel trip

US, Palestinian, Israeli, Turkish and Lebanese organizations have made
requests for the Chili Peppers to not cross the international picket
line and respect the Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions.
We will continue to bring to light the injustices that Palestinians
face as a result of Occupation and apartheid policies and show why BDS
is a moral action for artists - including the Red Hot Chilli Peppers
- to take.

AS Tal Shipiro from Boycott from Within said "[We must] make sure
that no artist can say they didn’t know. Not about the atrocities
of the apartheid state and its brutal occupation, and not about the
movement to boycott, divest and sanction it."

University of Haifa gives in to right wing
pressure and cancels Nakba Day event at last minute

Following right wing pressure The University of Haifa rescinded permission
for a student-organized Nakba Day event, just three hours before the
event was to have taken place. The university's president, Aaron Ben-Ze'ev,
announced the cancelation even after organizers received permits from
all relevant bodies. The Hadash students' organization released a statement
saying, "Our feeling is that little by little we are returning
to the period of military rule, and from the most unexpected place -
academia."

Boycott the boycott violators at the International
Writer’s Festival in Jerusalem

The General Union of Palestinian Writers salutes international writers
who are boycotting the Mishkenot Sha'ananim festival and condemns in
the strongest terms the participation of writers whose names were announced
by the festival organizers as participants. The Union calls on Palestinian
intellectuals and cultural workers, writers, novelists, academics and
journalists to boycott the festival and not to meet with its participants
who are not welcome [among us] as they have shamed themselves.

The organisers of the festival demanded opening speakers must show
their speeches to management in advance - in an effort to avoid a repeat
of a 2010 speech that criticized Israel. Another example of how Israeli
organisations complain, inaccurately, that BDS is censorship while stamping
on free speech themselves.

New York University faculty and staff call
for pension fund divestment

Over 200 NYU faculty and staff have signed a letter calling on TIAA-CREF,
the pension provider for the university to divest from Caterpillar,
Elbit Systems, Motorola, Veolia, and Northrop Grumman and other firms
that profit from Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territories.

The letter was drafted by NYU Students for Justice in Palestine. It
describes Caterpillar's role in home demolitions; Elbit's manufacture
of drones used in extra-judicial killings; Motorola's role in is equipping
aparteheid wall checkpoints; Veolia's involvement in the settlement
servicing light rail; and Northrop Grumman's supply of weapons used
in the Cast Lead assault on Gaza.

The signatories include many senior professors of the University. Natable
among them is Craig Calhoun, President of the US Social Science Research
Council, who will be Director of eh London School of Economics from
September.

Leeds University cancels Ahava booking

Ahava, the Israeli cosmetics
company that steals its ingredients from Occupied Palestinian land
attempted to book Leeds University's Weetwood Hall for a promotional
event. A campaign by Leeds students and staff and Leeds PSC put pressure
on the vice-chancellor and the booking has been cancelled.

Italian activists demanded and were granted the opportunity to to speak
prior to the presentation by Hanan Kaminski, director of the school
of animation of the Bezalel Academy of Jerusalem. The BDS activists
informed the audience that the participation of Bezalel, with the sponsorship
and financial support of the Israeli Embassy in Italy, represents one
of many attempts by Israel to use culture to rebrand its image and divert
attention from policies of occupation, colonialism and apartheid.

In 2005, Nissim Ben-Sheetrit of Israel's Foreign Ministry stated: “We
see culture as a propaganda tool of the first rank, and we do not differentiate
between propaganda and culture.”

The
standard Israeli sponsorship contract states: "The service
provider [or in English, the artist] is aware that the purpose of ordering
services from him is to promote the policy interests of the State of
Israel via culture and art, including contributing to creating a positive
image for Israel.

'Respected' Israeli Universities offer
courses in lying for Israel

Haifa and Tel Aviv Universities are offering course in hasbara
for Israeli and International students respectively. Hasbara is the
name Israelis give to propaganda and disinformation in defence of Israel
and the Occupation.

While many courses in many universities worldwide can be accused of
bias these ae unusual in overtly teaching the skills of distortion and
lying. Trainers on the courses include: Mark Regev, famous worldwide
for defending the indefensible and saying what is convenient rather
than what is accurate; and Neil Lazarus who promoted a video falsely
claiming tha tteh Gaza Flotilla was homophobic. The Tel Aviv course
is supported by Stand with Us an extremist pro-Israel US group
associated with Islamophobic funders.

This is yet more evidence of why Israeli Universities should be boycotted:
they do not promote the values of disinterested enquiry expected of
any university.

Activists
call on Cambridge University Chamber Choir to cancel their tour of Israel

Activists in Cambridge are urging the Cambridge University Chamber
Choir under the direction of Tim Brown to cancel their tour of Israel
performing Bach's St Matthew Passion from 20-27 March. They are acting
In keeping with the call by Palestinian NGOs for the academic and cultural
boycott of Israel

Lacking the names of the Choir members, the Cambridge activists sent
their letter to its director, administrator and secretary, as well as
to officials of the Cambridge University Musical Society. To our knowledge
they have not fulfilled this request to forward it to the individual
members. Bricup are pleased to post hteir letter on our site to enable
dialogue with Choir members.

The Israeli
Camerata site names the singers as the 'Academy of English Voices',
but the CU Musical Society has confirmed that members of the CU Chamber
Choir will indeed be touring.

How a US academic challenged Pinkwashing
in the New York Times

Sarah Schulman described a the Penn
BDS conference the hurdles she had to cross to get the New York
Time to publish her article on Pinkwashing and how the paper published
a response by the Israeli Embassy with no fact-checking at all.

Why Boycott?

The construction of the Israeli wall across and through Palestinian
land in flagrant violation of the rulings of the International Court
and despite international condemnation, notably from the EU, is making
everyday life, to say nothing of teaching and research, ever more difficult
for our Palestinian colleagues. . . . . Why Boycott page

What is BRICUP

BRICUP is an organisation of UK based academics, set up in response
to the Palestinian Call for Academic Boycott. Its twin missions are:

- to support Palestinian universities, staff and students, and

- to oppose the continued illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian
lands with its concomitant breaches of international conventions of
human rights, its refusal to accept UN resolutions or rulings of the
International Court, and its persistent suppression of Palestinian academic
freedom.What is BRICUP - find out more